Radio apparatus



Nov. 13, 1928. 1,691,413

A. F. sANFoRq RADIO APPARATUS Filed Aug ll, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 51 2 +5 mmmmw n" h x Nov. 13, 1928.

A. F. SANFORD RADIO APPARATUS Filed Aug. 11, 1925 WW W a H a 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 HHi " film F WCWW @M M Nov. 13, 1928. 1,691,413

A. F. SANFORD RADIO APPARATUS Filed Aug. 11, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 13, 1928.

UNETED STATES ALFRED F. SANFORD, OF KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE.

RADIO APPARATUS.

Application filed August 11, 1925. Serial No. 49,636

into positions bringing those members into,

tune with the sending apparatus of a chosen sending station, suitable records may then be made on the record-receiving surfaces, which records then stand in fixed relation to the then positions of the tuning members, so that thereafter those tuning members may be again brought into .tune with the apparatus of that sending station by moving said tuning members until the records of said recordreceiving surfaces are again in the position in waich they were made. It might also be said that the members bearing the recordreceiving surfaces may be moved until those records are again in the positions in which they were made. For, as already stated, there is to be a fined relation between the tuning members and the members bearing the record-receiving surfaces.

I The apparatus illustrated and described by this application comprises three tuning shafts and three concentric rings bearing recordreceivins surfaces in approximately the same plane, said rings being rotatable on a common axis which is perpendicular to said plane. One of said rings is to receive records con cerning one of the tuning shafts; another of said rings is to receive recores concerning another of the tuning shafts; and the third of said rings to receive records concerning the thirdo-f said shafts. These rings are mov-' able independently of each other similar to the movements of the rings or tumblers 1n permutation locks. It is tobe understood that the members bearing the record-receiving surfaces may be brought into inter-relation otherwise than by bringing said surfaces in a common plane.

In a subordinate manner, the apparatusillustrated and described herein provides for the movement of the record-receiving members at a speed different from the speed of the corresponding tuning members. Each record-receiving member and its tuning member are connected by two to one gearing whereby the recording receiving member moves twice as fast as the corresponding tuning member. Furthermore, there is associated with eachtuning member means for limiting that member to a one-half rotation.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a radio apparatus to which my improvement is applied;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation like Fig. 1, the outer wall being omittedand the three tuning shafts being cut; I i

Fig. 3 is an upright section on the line, 3-3, of Fi 1, looking toward the right;

Fig. 4 is an upright section on the line, 1 l, of Fig. 1, looking toward the right;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line, 55, of Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is an upright section on the line, 66, of Fig. 3, looking toward the left;

Fig. 7 is an upright sect-ion on the line 77, of Fig. 3, looking toward the right;

Fig. 8 is an upright section on the line, 88, of Fig. 3, looking toward the left;

Fi 9 is an upright section on the lines, 99, of Fig. 5, looking toward the right;

Fig. 10 is a perspective of a hand rest.

'Referring to the drawings, A is the front wall of a casing or housing for a radio mechanism embodying my improvement. A is the base of said casing. A is the top of the easing. A is an outer wall rising from the base, A to about half the height of the main wall, A, and spaced a short distance from the wall, A. A is an inner wall rising from the base, A parallel to and spaced from the wall, A, and rising a little higher than half the height of the wall, A. The upper edge of the outer wall, A, is notched at A to receive other the upper parts of the rotatable members bearing record-receiving surfaces.

B is the main shaft of the apparatus. The rear end of said shaft rests in a bearing, B seated in the innerwall, A. The outer end of saidshaft is surrounded by a hub, B

which rests in a bearing, B whichis supported on a bracket, B, which is attached immovabl to the front wall A at the lower part of the aperture, A. Said bracket tends outward through the notch, A in the outer wall, A 7 V The front or outer end of the shaft, B, ex-

tends through the hub, B and supports a forward face of the hub, (hand is secured thereto. Turning this knob will cause the turnin of the hub,.O, on the shaft, B, and the shaft, B, may be turned without turning the hub, O. A disc, O", is concentric to the shaft, B, and attached iininovahly to the inner end face of the hub,- O. The periphery of this disc extends into the semi-annular aperture in the wall, A. The perimeter is offset at O to bring an annular face into the plane of two other annular faccshercafter described. Said face constitutes a record receiving surface.

lrrdjacent the front face of the disc, O", a leeve, D, surrounds and is spaced from the hub, O, and is surrounded and supported by :1 hearing, D seated on the bracket, B. On the outer or forward end of said sleeve is a hand knob, D partially surrounding the bearing, D in. the inner end of the sleeve, D, is a disc, D which has its forward face close to the rear or inner face of the wall, A,

and said disc extends outward to b155 5 a art of its front face into the aperture, A concentric with the offset part, O, of the disc, O, the outer face of the disc, l), and the outer face of the olfse part, C, being in the same plane. The part of the disc, D, which is exposed in the aperture, A], constitutes a record receiving surface.

A disc, B, surrounds and is fixed to the snaft, B, at the rearof the disc, C. The disc, B, is of larger diameter than the disc, O and supports at its perimeter an annular rear said hearing has a flange, E resting against and secured to the rear face of the wall, 1 At the rear face of the flange, a

B in the plane of the disc, D and the collar, E surrounds and is fixed to the shaft and serves to prevent forward movementof the shaft. On this collar are two radial pins, E placed diametrically opposite each other. On the flange, E is a horizontal stop pin, E, which extends into the path of the pins, E By this means, the shaft, E, is limited to ahalf turn. The inner end of this shaft is connected with tuning mechanism which calls for a half turn or less to effect tuning. well-known and therefore is not shown by these drawing I The shaf 1, projects forward through the bearing, it far enough to receive a spur wheel, ll", said wheel surrounding and being fixed to said shaft. Said shaft does not extend forward through the walls, A an d A. It terminates to leave room for the discs, B and O". The spur gear wheel, E meshes with an idle spur gear wheel, E, which loose- 1y surrounds a fixed shaft, E which is seated in the wall, A The wheel, E, meshes with a spur gear wheel, E which surrounds and is fixed on the shaft, 13, at the inner face of the inner wall, A preferably so proportioned as to cause one full rotation. of the shaft, B, to give to the tuning shaft, a one-half turn. The gear 14 wheel, E rests against the bearing, B, and prevents rearward movement of the shaft. A collar, B surrounds and is fixed to the shaft B, close to the inner face of the bearing, B and serves to hold the shaft, B, againstforward movement. A circumferential flange, B on the hub, B positioned to bear against the outer face of the bearing, 13 also aids in holding the shaft, B, against inward movement. At the right of the shaft, B, and at a lowe level, a second tuning shaft, F, isseated in bearings, F in the walls, A, and projects loosely through the front wall, A and A.

Such mechanism is These gear wheels are 7 (Figsfi and On the outer or'forward end of said shaft is a hand knob, F by means of which said shaft is to be turned. Between the walls, A and A, a spur gear wheel, F surrounds and is fixed to the shaft, F. Thatwheel meshes with an idle spur gear wheel, F which loosely surrounds a shaft, F which is fixed in the front wall, A. That idle wheel meshes with a spur gear wheel E, which is in the form of an annulus'surrounding the hub, O, and secured by screws to the flange, C of said hub. Through said'gears, the second tuning shaft, F, and the hub, C, and the disc, O must turn simultaneously; but said gears are so proportioned as to require the hub, O, to turn twice as fast as the two diametrically opposite radial pins, F

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These pins serve to limit the On the adjacent bearing, F is a horizontal pin, F which stands in the path of the pins, F By this means the shaft, F, is limited to a one-half turn.

At the left of the tuning shaft, B, and at a lower-level is a third tuning shaft, G, which rests in bearings, G in the walls, A and A, and projects loosely through the outer wall, it. G surrounds and is fixed to said shaft. Between the walls, A and A, a spur gear wheel, G surroun ls and fixed to said shaft. Said wheel meshes with an idle spur gear wheel, G which turns loosely on a shaft, G fixed on the wall, A. This idle wheel meshes with a ring-form spur gear wheel, G, which loosely surrounds the hub, O, and is iminovably secured to the sleeve, D, by means of screws or otherwise. Through these gears, the shaft, G, and the sleeve, D, and thedisc, D must move simultaneously. But the gears are so proportionedas to compel a full rotation of the sleeve, D, and the disc, D while the tun-- ing shaft, G, undergoes only a one-half rotation. At the rear of the rear bearing, G the shaft, G, is surrounded by a fixed collar, G On this collar are two dian'ietrically opposite radial pins, G On the bearing, O is a horizontal pin, G in the path of the pins, G shaft, G, to only a one-half rotation.

A guide bar, H, extends across the right hand part of the aperture, A of the wall, A, the ends of said bar being secured to the wall, A, 'by means of screws, H To bring the body of said bar close to the record-receiving surfaces, the ends of the bar are bent to rest on the slanting faces of the wall, A. This bar is preferably slotted, as shown by the drawings, in order that the record-receiving surfaces will present a definite limited area on whicl writing is to be placed. Below'the guide bar,;ll, 1s a hand rest, H One end of said hand est is secured on the wall, A, by

screws, The other end of said hand rest is secured on the outer wall A On any part of the annular plate, B preferably along one of its edges, are placed a series of permanent numbersextending entirely around the plate, the series extending from one upward, the number of intervals depending upon the spacing. In Fig, 1, the numbers from 26 to 51, inclusive, (excepting 27, 28 and 30) are exposed toview. The spaces between these numbers are divided by graduation marks.

The operation of lows:

To bring the apparatus into tune with a chosen sending station, any one of the three tuningshafts is brought into tune with that station by turning that shaft into the required'position. I

If the first tuning shaft, E, is chosen for the beginning of this operation, the hand this apparatus is as fol- At the front of the wall, A a hand knob,

knob, 13-, is turned until it has been found that the mechanism connected With the shaft, E, is in tune, motion being, as above described, transmitted from the shaft, B, to the shaft, E, by means of the three gear Wheels connecting said shafts. This turning of the shaft, B, causes the turning of the disc, B, and the annular record-receiving plate, B in unison with the shaft, B. \V hen these movements cease, a certain, part of the outer face of the annular plate, B (usually one of the serial numbers) is behind the slot in the guide bar, H. If the mechanism connected with the second tuning shaft, F, is next to be brought into tunew'vith the. chosen sending station, the hand knob, F of that shaft (or the'knob, O) is turned until the desired tuning has been found. Turning that knob, F causes the corresponding turning of the shaft, F, and that causes the turning of the three gear wheels which connect the shaft, F, with the hub, C, whereby that hub and the disc, C, are turned. But the hub and the disc, O", turn twice as fast as the rate at which the shaft, F, is turned. When these movements cease, a part of the recording surface of the offset, O, of the disc, (3*, will be ex posed through the slot in the guide bar, H.

N ext the hand knob, G of the third tuning shaft, G, (or the knob, D is turned to bring the mechanism connected with that shaft int-o tune with the chosen sending station. This movement of the shaft, G, causes theturning of the gear wheels connecting that shaft with the sleeve, D, and the disc, D said leeve and said disc turning twice as fast as the tuning shaft, G. \Vhen these movements cease, a part of the record receiving surface presented by the disc, D is exposed in the slot of the guide bar, H.

Now a record of the positions of the three tuning shaft-s is to be made on the record re ceiving surfaces. The position of the first tuning shaft, E, is tobe noted on the part of the front or outer face of the annular plate,

E which is exposed in the slot of the guide bar, H. This record may consist of the initials or name, or both, of the sending station with which the apparatus has been brought into tune. The wave length ofthat station may also be placed on this surface. On the exposed parts of the offset part, C of the disc, O, and the disc, D is placed the annular plate serial number then exposed through the slot of the bar, H. In Figs l and 2, of the drawings, this number is 30. If a space between two of the serial numbers were exposed, for example, the space between 30 and 31, then. 30 may be written on the members O and D When thisapparatus is to be put into tune with another sending station, the three tuning shafts are turned as already described, until they are in tune. with that sending station. Then, in the manner already described,

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appropriate records are placed on the parts of the record receiving surfaces which are exposed through the guide bar slot. Thus records for any number of sending stations may be placed on the record-receiving surfaces.

\Vhen it is desired to again place the apparatus into tune with a sending station with which the apparatus was previously in tune, the annular plate, B is turned until the record for that station is in the guide bar slot. Then the other record members are rotated to bring into the guide bar slot the number in that slot on the plate, B It may be said that for thus resetting the apparatus, the guide bargll, serves as an indicator.

it is to b noted that the tuning sluifts, l1 and G, may be turned for tuning by turning the disc knobs on those shafts or by turning the corresponding knobs surround ing the shaft, B, (the knobs, U and D Because the record receiving members rotate at a higher velocity than the rate of rotation of those tuning shafts, greater accuracy can be attained by turning the record receiving members and transmittir motion from the ass ciated gear wheels, l and G, to the corresponding tuning shafts. This advantage is increased because the wheels, F and G, are of less diameter than the corresponding vvl'ieels, F and G. Thus a slight movement of any part of a record-receiving surface will involve a much smaller fractional rotation of the corresponding tuning shaf In making this adjustment, the operator may be guided wholly by the movements of the record-receiving surfaces. Direct movement of the tuning shafts, i and -G, -may be desirable when it is sought to quickly bring those shafts through a considerable movement to approximately correct position, precise position being then attained by using the knobs, C and D No prosion is made for directly ongagin the tuning shaft, E, for the more rapid turning of that shaft.

1 claim as my invention,

1. in an apparatus of the kind described, the con'ibination with a plurality of tuning shafts on parallel axial lines, of a plurality of parallel members shiftable independently of each other and having record-receiving surfaces near each other parts of which may be ln'ought substantially into alignment with each otherby the shifting of said members, and motion trans 'iitting means connecting each of said shafts with one of said shiftable memiers, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a plurality of tuning shafts on parallel axial lines, of a plurality of parallel members rotatable independently of each other and having record-receiving surfaces near each other parts of which may be brought substantially into alignment with each other by the rotation of said members,

and motion transmitting means connecting each of said shafts with one of said rotatable members, substantially as described.

In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a plurality of tuning shafts on parallel axial lines, of a plurality of members rotatable independently of each other on a common axis and having recordreceiving surfaces near each other parts of which may be brought substantially into alignment with each other by the shifting of members, and motion transmitting means connecting each of said shafts with one of said rotatable members, substantially as described.

a. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a pluralityof tuning shafts on parallel axial lines, of a plurality of concentric members rotatable independently of each other and having record-receiving surfaces near each other parts of which may be brought substantially into alignment with each other by the rotation of said members, and motion transmitting means connecting each of said shafts with one of said rotatable members, substantially as described.

5. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a plurality of tuning shafts on diverse axes, of a plurality of members rotatable independently'of each. other and having record-receiving surfaces near each other, a hand rest adjacent said recordreceiving surface and motion transmitting means connecting each of said shafts with one of said rotatable members, substantially as described.

6. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination with a plurality oftuning shafts on diverse axes, of a'pluralityofmembers shiftable independently of each other and having record-receiving surfaces near each other parts of which may be brought substantially into alignment with each other by the shifting of said members, and motion transmitting means connecting each of said shafts with one of said shiftable members, the shiftable membersbeing given greater velocity than said shafts, substantially as described. I Y

7-. In an apparatus of the kind described, the con'ibination with a plurality of tuning shafts on diverse axes, of a plurality ofmembers rotatable independently of each other and having record-receiving surfaces near each otherparts of which may be brought substantially into alignment with each other by the rotation of said members, and motion transmitting means connecting each of said shafts with one of said record-receiving.mem-

bers for diversevelocity', substantially as de-' scribed. V l

8. In an apparatus of the kind described,

the combination with a plurality of tuning shafts on diverse axes, of a plurality of members rotatable independently of each other on a common axis and having record-receiving surfaces near each other parts of which may be brought substantially into alignment with each other by the rotation of said members, and motion transmitting gearing connecting each of said shafts with one of said record-receiving members the latter receiving the higher Velocity, substantially as described.

9. in an apparatus of the lrind described, the combination of an upright wall having a semi-annular opening, the base of which is horiaontal, amain shaft perpendicular to and supported on said wall on the axis of said opening, a record-receiving member" supported by and rotatable witl said shaft at the rear of said wall and extending into said opening, a tuning shaft, gearing connec in said tuning shaft an l said main shaft, a hub loosely surrounding the main shaft, a recordreceiving member mounted on said hub at the rear of said wall and extending into said opening, a second tuning shaft, and gearing connecting said shaft and said hub, substantially as described.

10. In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination of an upright wall having a semi-annular opening, the base of wh ch is horizontal, a main shaft perpendicular to and supported on said wall on the axis of said opening, a record-receiving member supported by and rotatable with said shaft at the rear of said wall and extending into said opening, a tuning shaft, gearing connecting said tuning shaft anc. said main shaft, a hub loosely surrounding the main shaft, a recordreceiring member mounted on said hub at the rear of said wall and extending into said opening, a second tuning shaft, gearing connecting'said shaftand said hub, a hand knob on said main shaft, and a hand knob on said hub, substantially as described.

11. In an apparatus of the lrind described.

the combination an upright wall having a semi annular opening, a bearing bracket-on the axial line of said openii a driving shaft 1- i said bracket, a hand knob on the outer end of said shaft, a tunii g shaft at the rear of said wall, and gearing between said tuning shaft; and the re end of said driving shaft, substantially described.

in an appa us of the hind described, concentrrotary driving members, a record-receii ing member supported by each of said dr' 'ing members, a tuning shaft, geartwo ing cOnnectingsaid shaft with one of said driving members, a second tuning shaft outside the axial line of the first tuning shaft, and connecting said tuning shaft with the other rotary driving member, substant-i ally as described.

In an apparatus of the kind described, the combination of a rotary driving member having a hand knob, a tuning shaft having a hand knob, a record-receivin member supported by and rotatable with the 'driving member, and gearing connecting the driving member and the tuning member, substantially as described. I

14. In an apparatus of-the kind described, the combination with a plurality of tuning members on parallel axial lines, of a plurality of concentric record members, and means placing; each of said tuning members into operative relation with a corresponding record member fo simultaneous turning of said member and the tuning member, substantially as described.

15. In a radio receiving mechanism the combination with two parallel independently movable tuning members, of two independently movable record-receiving members adacent each other, means placing one of said tuning members into operative relation with one of said record-receiving members for movement, and means in operative relation with the other record-receiving member for moving the latter, whereby each tuning member may be moved into tune position and the companion record-receiving member moved into a new position and adjacent records then made on said two surfaces relative to each other and to a stationary part of the mechanism, substantially as described.

16. In an apparatus of the kind described, combination of an upright wall, a bracket seated on the outer side of said wall and comprising a plurality of hearings on a common axial line, a plurality of tuning =fts, a plurality of rotatable members free rom each other and supported on said bear- ALFRED F. SANFORD. 

